Mixing Cartridge

ABSTRACT

A cartridge may comprise a container, a filter, and a lid. The container may comprise a pierceable bottom portion structurally configured to be pierceable by a first machine piercing element. The filter may be disposed inside the container. The filter may comprise a pre-shaped concave center portion disposed above the pierceable bottom portion. The pre-shaped concave center portion may be disposed above the pierceable bottom portion. The pre-shaped concave center portion may comprise one or more attachment portions fastened to the container bottom along a periphery of the pre-shaped concave center portion. The lid may be attached to an opening of the container.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/917,790, filed Mar. 11, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/692,606, filed Apr. 21, 2015, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/987,760, filed May 2,2014, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate some implementations describedherein and, together with the description, explain theseimplementations. In the drawings:

Example FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a brewing machine and cartridgeas per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention;

Example FIG. 2 is a diagram of a side cross-sectional view of acartridge as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention;

Example FIG. 3 is a diagram of a side cross-sectional view of thecartridge after the top and bottom surfaces of the cartridge are piercedby piercing instruments as per an aspect of an embodiment of the presentinvention;

Example FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process for manufacturing abeverage cartridge as per an aspect of an embodiment of the presentinvention;

Example FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process of brewing abeverage using a beverage cartridge as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention;

Example FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process of manufacturing abeverage filter using a toolhead as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention;

Example FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are diagrams of a side cross-sectional viewof alternative cartridges with creamed honey and tea as per an aspect ofan embodiment of the present invention;

Example FIG. 8 is an exploded diagram of a side cross-sectional view ofa cartridge as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention;and

Example FIG. 9 is an un-exploded diagram of the example embodimentillustrated in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the sameor similar elements. The illustrative embodiments described herein arenot necessarily intended to show all embodiments in accordance with theinvention, but rather are used to describe a few illustrativeembodiments. Thus, aspects of the invention are not intended to beconstrued narrowly in view of the illustrative embodiments. In addition,it should be understood that aspects of the invention may be used aloneor in any suitable combination with other aspects of the invention.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the provisionof a novel solution mixing cartridge. One of the various uses of asolution mixing cartridge is as a single serve beverage cartridgeconfigured to produce beverages such as tea, coffee and/or the like.However, one skilled in the art will recognize that this novel cartridgeconfiguration may be employed in other areas wherein a cartridge may beemployed to create a solution by mixing a substance and a solute, forexample, a cartridge for mixing glue, paint, and/or the like.

A solution may be a mixture that includes a solute substance dissolved(or partially dissolved) in a solvent substance. The solvent may do thedissolving. The solution may, more or less, take on the characteristicsof the solvent including its phase, and the solvent may be the majorfraction of the mixture. The concentration of a solute in a solution maybe a measure of how much of that solute is dissolved in the solvent.

A solute may be a chemically different liquid, solid or gas than asolvent. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid or a gas.The maximum quantity of solute that can dissolve in a specific volume ofsolvent varies with temperature. Common uses for organic solvents are indry cleaning (e.g., tetrachloroethylene), as paint thinners (e.g.,toluene, turpentine), as nail polish removers and glue solvents(acetone, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate), in spot removers (e.g.,hexane, petrol ether), in detergents (citrus terpenes), in perfumes(ethanol), nail polish and in chemical synthesis. The use of inorganicsolvents (other than water) may be employed in research chemistry andsome technological processes.

An example of one of various solutions that may be produced usingsolution mixing cartridge embodiments may be a beverage. A beverage mayinclude a drink or other liquid prepared for human consumption. Examplesof beverages include, but are not limited to: juice, soft drinks,carbonated drinks, coffee, teas, combinations thereof, and/or the like.Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boilingwater over leaves of the tea plant at which time the hot water may actas a solvent to dissolve parts of the tea leaves (acting as a solute) toform a tea solution. Some beverages may include alcohol.

FIG. 1 which is a diagram illustrating a system 100 that may employ abeverage machine 190 and cartridge 110 to produce a beverage solution.The beverage cartridge 110 may be used in a beverage machine 190 to forma suitable beverage such as tea, coffee, other infusion-type beverages,beverages formed from a liquid or powdered concentrate, etc. In thisillustrative embodiment, the cartridge 110 may be configured for usewith a beverage machine 190 to form a beverage such as coffee, tea,and/or the like. However, as discussed earlier, aspects of the cartridge110 are not limited in this respect.

According to some of the various embodiments, cartridge 110 may beplaced in brewing machine 190 and operated to generate, for example, ahot beverage. Cartridge 110 may comprise, a container, a filter, abrewing medium and a lid. The brewing medium may include a brewingmaterial such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and/or the like. Thebrewing machine 190 may puncture the lid and the bottom of the cartridgeand force hot water under pressure through the cartridge and into a mug195.

FIG. 2 illustrates a side cross-sectional view of an example solutionmixing cartridge 110 as per an aspect of an embodiment of the presentinvention. Cartridge 110 may contain a solute 210. Solute 210 may bebeverage medium, e.g., ground coffee, tea leaves, dry herbal tea,powdered beverage concentrate, dried fruit extract or powder, powderedor liquid concentrated bouillon or other soup, powdered or liquidmedicinal materials (such as powdered vitamins, drugs or otherpharmaceuticals, nutriceuticals, etc.), and/or other beverage-makingmaterial (such as powdered milk or other creamers, creamed honey, honeysweeteners, thickeners, flavorings, and so on). Throughout thisdisclosure, the term beverage medium, medium, and/or the like is used asa specific example of a solute. One skilled in the art will recognizethat other solutes could be substituted to generate various and/oralternative embodiments.

In this illustrative embodiment, cartridge 110 includes a container 220that further includes an interior space 230 having a first chamber 231and a second chamber 232 separated by a filter 240. However, otheradditional chambers in the interior space and/or sub-portions or areasof the first chamber 231 and second chamber 232, may be provided inother embodiments. For example, the first chamber 231 and/or secondchamber 232 may be divided or otherwise separated into two or moreportions or areas by filters, walls, dividers, passageways, otherfeatures, and/or the like.

In this example embodiment, container 220 may have a shaped cup with asidewall 250 and an opening 260. According to various embodiments, thecontainer 220 may have many shapes, such as for example, a fluted,conical, or cylindrical shape, a square or rectangular cup shape, adomed cup shape, a sphere or partial sphere shape, or other suitableform. Container 220 may have a fluted, corrugated, or otherwise shapedsidewall. Also, container 220 need not necessarily have a defined shape,as is the case with some beverage sachets and pods. For example,although container 220 in the illustrated embodiment has a relativelyrigid and/or resilient construction so that the container 220 may tendto maintain its shape, the container 220 could be made to have a morecompliant and/or deformable arrangement. e.g., like a sachet containermade from a sheet of deformable material. Thus, an interior space 230defined by the container 220 may be formed after the container materialis formed around a beverage medium 210, filter 240 and/or othercartridge components.

If the container 220 includes an opening 260, the opening 260 may beclosed by a lid 270. According to some of the various embodiments, lid270 may be, for example, a foil and polymer laminate material that isattached to a rim 280 of the container 220. Although in this embodimentthe rim 280 is arranged as an annular flange-like element, the rim 280may be arranged in other ways. For example, the rim 280 may be the topedge of the sidewall 250 without a flange element. The container 220and/or the lid 270 may provide a barrier to moisture and/or gases, suchas oxygen. For example, the container 220 may be made of a polymerlaminate, e.g., formed from a sheet including a layer of polystyrene orpolypropylene and a layer of ethylene vinyl alcohol and/or other barriermaterial, such as a metallic foil. Such an arrangement may providesuitable protection for the beverage medium 210, e.g., from unwantedexposure to moisture, oxygen and/or other materials. Furthermore,container 220 and/or lid 270 may be made of other materials orcombinations of materials, such as biopolymers, compostable polymers,paper, foils, etc.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the filter 240 may beattached to the bottom of the container 290 on at least one or moreportions, as indicated as a point of attachment 291. The filter 240 mayhave a concave middle area 241 positioned above a pierceable portion ofthe bottom 292. The filter 240 may be arranged between the first chamber231 and second chamber 232 of the interior space 230 so that liquid inthe first chamber 231 of the interior space (e.g., that interacts withbeverage medium 210) flows through the filter 240 and toward the secondchamber 232 of the interior space 230 before exiting the container 220.The filter 240 may function to remove materials over a certain size froma liquid, e.g., may remove coffee grounds from liquid in the firstchamber 231, allowing a coffee beverage to pass through the filter 240to the second chamber 232. For example, the filter 240 may include apiece of filter paper that is arranged to allow a liquid and dissolvedand/or suspended materials of a certain size to pass, yet preventrelatively large particles from flowing through the filter 240.According to some of the various embodiments, the filter 240 may havemultiple stages, e.g., a coarse filter portion that filters outrelatively large particles, followed by a fine filter portion thatfilters relatively smaller particles, and so on. In addition, filter 240may include one or more portions that function to filter liquid passingthrough filter 240, as well as portions that may be impermeable orotherwise restrict flow. Thus, filter 240 may include two or moreseparate components, if desired. Furthermore, not all portions of thefilter may need to be permeable to liquids. The filter 240 may also haveareas with different permeability, e.g., to help direct flow toward oneor more areas of the filter 240. For example, regions of the filter 240near the lid 270 may have a relatively lower permeability as compared toregions further away from the lid 270. This may help encourage flowthrough the beverage medium 210 toward lower regions of the filter 240,potentially improving the dissolution of materials in the medium 210into the liquid.

The filter 240 may also, or alternately, function to help prevent themovement of materials from the second chamber 232 to the first chamber231. The filter 240 may help prevent contact of the beverage medium 210with a needle or other liquid inlet that pierces the lid 270 tointroduce water or other liquid into the cartridge 110. For example,some beverage media such as honey or powdered drink mixes may clog orotherwise foul an inlet needle if allowed to contact the needle. Thefilter 240 may help prevent such contact, helping to maintain properoperation of the cartridge and preparation of a beverage.

In this illustrative embodiment, the filter 240 may have a shape such asa fluted or conical shape with pleated sidewalls and a concave middlearea 241. The filter 240 may be attached to the bottom of the container290 in many suitable ways, such as by an adhesive, thermal welding,ultrasonic welding, chemical bonding, crimping, other mechanicalbonding, a combination thereof, and/or the like. For example, the filtermay be attached to the periphery of the bottom of the container bygluing or heat sealing. The filter 240 may include a permeable filterpaper made of a combination of polypropylene and cellulose materials andmay be attached to the bottom portion of the container 290 by thermalwelding.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a side cross-sectional view of cartridge 110after the top 270 and bottom 290 surfaces of container 220 are piercedby piercing instruments 310 and 330. When using cartridge 110 to preparea beverage, cartridge 110 may also be penetrated by a first beveragemachine piercing instrument 310 (e.g., a needle) at the bottom of thecontainer 290. Alternatively, the first beverage machine piercinginstrument 310 may include one or more hollow or solid needles, knives,blades, tubes, and so on. The first beverage machine piercing instrument310 may create a flap or flange above the portion of the bottom of thecontainer which it pierces. The cartridge 110 may include a valve,septum or other element that opens to permit beverage to exit or outflowwhen liquid is introduced into the cartridge, but may otherwise remainclosed (e.g., to protect the beverage medium from external conditionssuch as oxygen, moisture or others). In such an embodiment, no piercingelement for forming the outlet opening may be required, although one maybe used. e.g., to allow the valve or other element to open. Also, inthis illustrative embodiment, the first beverage machine piercinginstrument 310 may remain in place to receive beverage as it exits theopening formed in the container 220 or lid 270. However, in some otherembodiments, the first beverage machine piercing instrument 310 maywithdraw after forming an opening, allowing beverage to exit the openingand be received without the first beverage piercing instrument 310 beingextended into the cartridge 110.

Furthermore, when using the cartridge 110 to form a beverage, the lid270 and/or the container 220 may be pierced to introduce liquid into thecartridge and receive beverage from the cartridge. As used herein,“beverage” may refer to a liquid substance that is formed when a liquidinteracts with a beverage medium. For example, such a beverage may beintended for drinking. According to one of the various embodiments, abeverage refers to a liquid that is ready for consumption, e.g., isdispensed into a cup and ready for drinking, as well as a liquid thatwill undergo other processes or treatments, such as filtering or theaddition of flavorings, creamers, sweeteners, another beverage, etc.,before being consumed. According to some other embodiments, a beveragemay include other liquids, including medicine, alcohol, sauces, andother solutions, etc. To introduce liquid into the cartridge, forexample, as shown in FIG. 3, a portion of the lid 270 may be pierced bya second beverage machine piercing instrument 330 (e.g., a needle) sothat water or other liquid may be injected into the cartridge 110. Otherinlet piercing arrangements are possible, such as multiple needles, ashower head, a non-hollow needle, a cone, a pyramid, a knife, a blade,etc. A beverage machine that uses the cartridge may include multiplepiercing elements of the same type or of different types, as theembodiments are not limited in this respect. In another arrangement, abeverage machine may include a piercing element (such as a spike) thatforms an opening and thereafter a second inlet element (such as a tube)may pass through the formed hole to introduce liquid into (or conductliquid out of) the container. In other embodiments, the lid 270 may bepierced, or otherwise effectively opened for flow, by introducingpressure at an exterior of the lid 270. For example, a water inlet maybe pressed and sealed to the lid 270 exterior and water pressureintroduced at the site. Water pressure may cause lid 270 to be piercedor otherwise opened to allow flow into cartridge 110. In anotherarrangement, lid 270 may include a valve, conduit or other structurethat opens when exposed to a suitable pressure and/or when mated with awater inlet tube or other structure.

Although the embodiments described above include a beverage medium 210only in the first chamber 231, those embodiments may include thebeverage medium 210 in the second chamber 232 and/or other portions ofcartridge 110. For example, cartridge 110 may include roast and groundcoffee in the first chamber 231, and a creamer and sweetener in thesecond chamber 232, enabling the cartridge to form a cappuccino- orlatte-like beverage. In another embodiment, the first chamber 231 mayinclude coffee grounds and the second chamber 232 may include a hotchocolate material, allowing the cartridge to form a mocha-typebeverage. Other combinations may occur to those of skill in the art,such as leaf tea in the first chamber and a dried fruit material in thesecond chamber, a dried fruit material in the first chamber andcreamer/sweetener in the second chamber, and so on. In otherembodiments, the filter 240 may be attached to the bottom of thecontainer 290 on the periphery with the concave middle area 241 of thefilter positioned above the first beverage machine piercing instrument310.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process 400 for manufacturing abeverage cartridge. In process 410, a container with an interior space,having a rim defining an opening into the interior space, and having abottom to the closing to the interior space is provided. A rim may bejust an opening or may be shaped. The container may be made of asuitable material, such as plastic, paper, metal and combinations ofmaterials. Generally, the container may be impermeable to liquid so thata beverage created in the cartridge may be removed in a controlledfashion, but may have permeable portions. Also, the container may beconfigured with a shape such as frustoconical, spherical, cylindrical, arectangular box, and so on. Moreover, the container need not have adefined shape, and instead may be made of a flexible material.

At 420, a filter may be attached to the inside bottom of the containerat a periphery. The filter may have a concave middle area. The filtermay be arranged to separate a first chamber from a second chamber in theinterior space. Thus, the first chamber may be separated from the secondchamber by the filter. The filter may include a suitable material suchas filter paper, permeable or impermeable plastic material, a spongelike material, and so on. Also, the filter may include impermeable aswell as permeable elements. The filter may have any suitable shape, sizeand/or permeability. For example, the filter may have areas of differentpermeability so as to prevent or restrict flow through some areas of thefilter while facilitating flow through other, more permeable areas.

According to some embodiments a beverage medium may be provided in thefirst chamber of the interior space of the cartridge at 430. Thebeverage medium may be arranged to interact with liquid introduced intothe container to form a beverage, and may include roast and groundcoffee, leaf tea, instant coffee or tea, hot chocolate mix, a powdereddrink mix, dried fruit materials, creamed honey, sweetener, creamer,thickener, and/or any other suitable material for forming a beverage.

Example FIG. 7A is a diagram of a side cross-sectional view of acartridge 710A with creamed honey 722 and tea 721 and 723 as per anaspect of an embodiment of the present invention. The beverage medium721, 722, and 723 may consist of pre-creamed honey 722 and tea 721 and723 to form tea sweetened with honey. Creamed honey is a honey that hasbeen processed to control crystallization. Creamed honey may contain alarge number of small crystals, which prevent the formation of largercrystals that can occur in unprocessed honey. The processing may alsoproduce a honey with a smooth spreadable consistency. Other names forcreamed honey include whipped honey, spun honey, churned honey, candiedhoney, honey fondant, and (in the UK) set honey. In other words, creamedhoney may be formed when micro crystals form and spread in the honeydue, in part, because of the large sugar content in honey. One processfor initiating the process of creating creamed honey may includeintroducing seed crystal(s) into the honey. The honey may then becooled, for example, through refrigeration. As the honey crystallizes,the viscosity of the honey may increase and the clarity of the honey maydecrease. Pre-creamed honey may, for example, be made of 90-95% regularhoney and 5-10% creamed honey. Employing a container that holdsapproximately 45 milliliters, a layer of tea leaves 721 (approximately15 milliliters), followed by a layer of pre-creamed honey 722(approximately 16 grams), and topped with a final layer of tea leaves723 (approximately 5 milliliters) may be placed in the filter 740A.These approximate amounts may be adjusted for variations in containersize, performance, taste, combinations thereof, and/or the like. Afterthe beverage cartridge is sealed, the cartridge may sit upright forapproximately 4 to 8 hours or even overnight. Next, the cartridge may beplaced upside down in a refrigerator for a period of time such as 1 to 3days (or longer), to prepare a beverage cartridge with pre-creamed honeyand tea as its beverage medium.

Example FIG. 7B is a diagram of a side cross-sectional view of acartridge 710B with creamed honey 722 and tea 721 and 723 as per anaspect of an alternative embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7B issimilar to FIG. 7A with the notable difference that filter 740A issubstituted with filter 740B. This FIG. 7B is illustrating how creamedhoney may be employed in alternative cartridges.

In another embodiment, for a similarly sized container, a beveragemedium may be made from blending approximately 20 milliliters of tealeaves with approximately 16 grams of pre-creamed honey, and thenplacing the blended mix into the beverage cartridge. Furthermore inanother embodiment, the beverage medium may consist of 1 layer ofpre-creamed honey (approximately 16 grams) and 1 layer of tea leaves(approximately 20 milliliters) in the filter. For all the embodiments,if a greater or lesser quantity of tea leaves and pre-creamed honey areused, the shape of the pod may alter to accommodate this change. Forexample for some embodiments, the shape of the pod may be larger if morethan 20 milliliters of tea leaves and 16 grams of pre-creamed honey areused.

According to the various embodiments, the substance (e.g. beveragemedium) may be presweetened with creamed honey by many processes beyondwhat has been described above, including, but not limited to: mixing thesubstance with the creamed honey, blending the substance with thecreamed honey, coating the substance with the creamed honey, chemicallybonding the creamed honey to the substance. For example, when thesubstance is tea, the tea may be coated with a layer of creamed honeyprior to being placed in the cartridge. Expanding on the tea example,the tea may be mixed or blended with creamed honey prior to being placedin the cartridge. The blending and/or mixing may employ a mechanicaldevice such as a blender. The substance and the honey may bepre-processed together prior to being placed in the cartridge.Preprocessing may include heating the substance (e.g. tea, coffee, etc)along with honey, and potentially a liquid. Crystals may then beintroduced into the resultant mixture and cooled to let the sugarcontent of the honey crystallize.

At 440, the lid may be attached to the rim (e.g., to at least partiallyto close the opening). The lid may be attached to the rim in any numberof suitable ways, such as thermal or acoustic welding, adhesive,chemical bonding, mechanical bonding, a combination thereof, and/or thelike. In some embodiments, the rim may include a groove or other featurethat assists in removal of the lid from the rim. Other embodiments maybe configured to make it difficult to remove the lid from the rim. Thelid may be made of any suitable material, such as a foil, a foil andpolymer laminate, a polymer material, and so on, and may be permeablefor some embodiments and impermeable for other embodiments. The lid may,for example, include a sheet of flexible material. However, the lid,according to some of the various embodiments, may be made of animpermeable material so as to aid in controlling the flow of liquid inthe cartridge. The lid may have an annular shape.

It should be understood that actions outlined in FIG. 4 may be performedin any suitable order. For example, in one embodiment, the beveragemedium may be provided in a space defined by the filter before thefilter is attached to the bottom of the container. In anotherembodiment, the beverage medium may be provided into a space defined bythe filter after the filter is attached to the bottom of the container.In yet another embodiment, the filter may be attached to the bottom ofthe container, and the beverage medium provided into a space defined bythe filter either before or after the lid is attached to the containerrim.

Another aspect of some embodiments involves a process 500 for brewing abeverage using a beverage cartridge, e.g., as outlined in FIG. 5. At510, a cartridge may be provided having a container with an interiorspace, a rim defining an opening to the interior space, a sidewalldefining the side boundaries of the interior space, and a bottom with apierceable bottom portion.

At 520, a lid may be attached to the rim and close the opening of thecontainer. At 530, the pierceable bottom portion may be pierced by afirst beverage machine piercing instrument to form a first opening. Thepiercing of the pierceable bottom portion of the container by the firstbeverage machine piercing instrument may be performed by inserting aneedle, blade, knife or other suitable object through the lid,introducing water or other pressure to the lid to cause the lid torupture or a valve or other structure to open for flow. At 540 a firstportion of the lid may be pierced by the second beverage machinepiercing instrument. The location of the piercing may, for example, becloser to the center of the lid than the rim. A second beverage machinepiercing instrument may form a second opening. Piercing of the lid bythe second beverage machine piercing instrument may be done by insertinga needle or other various ways as mentioned above.

At 550, liquid may be introduced into a filter with a beverage mediumdisposed in the filter via the second beverage machine piercinginstrument. The filter may be comprised of an interior space bounded bya filter bottom, a filter sidewall, and a filter opening. The filter mayhave a concave middle and divide the container's interior space intofirst chamber and second chamber. The beverage medium may be arranged tointeract with the liquid introduced into the container to form abeverage. As discussed above, the container, rim, lid and filter may bemade of various materials and in various ways. Similarly, the beveragemedium may include suitable materials for forming a beverage when mixedwith a liquid. The liquid may be heated and/or pressurized water. Othertechniques may be employed to introduce liquid into the first chamber,such as inserting a tube through the first opening, mating an opening ina plate or other member to the lid near the first opening, and so on. At560, a beverage may be received through the first beverage machinepiercing instrument. The beverage may be formed by the interaction ofthe liquid with the beverage medium. The beverage may flow through thefilter to the second chamber. Flow of the beverage through the filtermay remove particulate matter from the beverage, such as larger coffeegrounds, tea leaves and/or the like. The beverage may be removed fromthe cartridge via the first beverage machine piercing instrument.

The actions outlined in FIG. 5 may include additional actions, such asengaging the rim with a clamping mechanism prior to introducing liquidinto the first chamber. For example, according to some of the variousembodiments, the cartridge may be engaged by a brew chamber such thatthe rim of the cartridge is clamped in place so as to, for example,reduce the likelihood of the lid being separated from the rim duringbrewing and/or to reduce the likelihood of leakage. The lid and/orcontainer may also be pierced by a third beverage machine piercinginstrument to form a third opening to, for example, vent the interiorspace. This may be useful to help flood the interior space of thecartridge with liquid. The cartridge may be positioned so that the lidis in a downward facing orientation with the container above the lid andthe lid in a plane that is transverse to a horizontal plane. Accordingto some, but not necessarily all, of the embodiments, the plane in whichthe lid is oriented may be at an angle of about 20 degrees to 70 degreesto the horizontal plane, which may help the beverage formation asdiscussed above. Also, the actions outlined in FIG. 5 may be performedin orders different than that shown in FIG. 5. For example, 530 and 540may be performed simultaneously.

Another aspect of the embodiments involves a process 600 formanufacturing a beverage cartridge, e.g., as outlined in FIG. 6. At 610,a filter may be manually placed between a top part and bottom part of atoolhead which may have a top central concave area and a bottom matchingconvex central area where filter material may be received between. At620, a concave middle area for the filter may be formed using thetoolhead. There are many other ways of shaping the filter. For example,employing a toolhead with a vacuum clamp. In addition, according to someof the various embodiments, the filter may be pre-shaped. Finally at630, the filter may be attached to a container of a beverage filtercartridge.

Example FIG. 8 is an exploded diagram of a side cross-sectional view ofa solution mixing cartridge 800 as per an aspect of an embodiment of thepresent invention. Example FIG. 9 is an un-exploded diagram of theexample embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, shown here for the sake ofclarity.

The solution mixing cartridge 800 comprises at least a container 820, afilter 840, a lid 870, and a substance 810. Some of the variousembodiments of cartridge 800 may be employed with a solution mixingmachine. An example of a solution mixing machine is a beverage brewingmachine configured to produce beverages such as tea, coffee, juice,and/or the like. Other examples of a solution mixing machine for whichvarious embodiments of cartridge 800 may be employed include gluemachines, cleaning machines, and/or the like.

Container 820 may include a container bottom 822, a container sidewall824 and an interior space 826. The container bottom 822 may include apierceable bottom portion 823 configured to be pierced by a firstpiercing element 831. First piercing element 831 may be part of thesolution mixing machine. The container sidewall may extend upwardly fromthe container bottom 822 to a container opening 828. The containerinterior space 826 may be bounded by: the container bottom 822, thecontainer sidewall 824, and the container opening 828.

The container 820 and/or the lid 870 may comprise, at least in part, animpermeable material. For example, lid 870 may be composed of, at leastin part, a foil and polymer laminate material. The filter 840 may beshaped as needed to adapt to the container shape 820. For example,filter shapes may include, but are not limited to, fluted shapes,conical shapes, and/or the like. Similarly, container 820 shape may beadapted as needed to adapt for employment as a stand-alone cartridgeand/or in use with a solution mixing apparatus. For example, container820 shapes may include, but are not limited to, fluted shapes, conicalshapes, and/or the like.

The filter 840 may be disposed inside container 820. Filter 840 mayinclude at least a filter bottom 842, a filter sidewall 844, and afilter interior space 846. The filter bottom 826 may include a periphery843, a concave center portion 845 disposed above the pierceable bottomportion 823. One or more attachment portions 891 may be located alongthe periphery where the filter 840 may be fastened to the containerbottom 822 using any number of techniques and/or materials such as, butnot limited to, glue, polymers, cordage, welding, heat processes,ultrasonic welding, combinations thereof, and/or the like. The filtersidewall 844 may extend upwardly from the filter bottom 826 towards afilter opening 828. The filter opening 828 may be disposed to contactthe container sidewall 824. The contact may or may not be fastened. Thefilter interior space 846 may be bounded by the filter bottom 826, thefilter sidewall 844 and the filter opening 848.

The lid 870 may be attached to the container opening 828. The attachmentmay be via an adhesive 860, a bond such as an ultrasonic weld, a heatweld, a mechanical cinch, combinations thereof, and/or the like. The lid870 may also have a pierceable lid portion 873 configured to be piercedby a second machine piercing element 832. At least part of the lid 870may include a sheet of flexible material.

A substance 810 may be disposed in the filter interior space 846. Thesubstance 810 may be configured to interact with liquid to form asolution. According to some of the various embodiments, the substancemay be configured to interact with a liquid to form a beverage. Examplesof such beverages include tea, coffee, juice, mil, and/or the like.Examples of other substances that may be employed in a mixing cartridge800 may include glue, cleaning solutions, and/or the like.

The substance 810, may include, at least part, a brewable ingredient.The substance 810, may include, at least part, an infusible ingredient.Additionally, the substance 810, may include, at least part, a sweetenersuch as, but not limited to, creamed honey, sugar, artificialsweeteners, stevia, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium,saccharin, combinations thereof, and/or the like.

The filter may be configured to: hold back a majority of the substance;and pass a majority of the solution. So for example, when the substanceis tea, the filter may be configured to hold back tea leaves whileallowing the liquid tea to pass. To accomplish this, the filter 840 mayinclude, at least in part, a permeable filter paper.

An alternative filter 840 may be constructed of a rigid or semi-rigidmaterial that is disposed at the bottom or near the bottom 822 ofcontainer 820. The rigid or semi-rigid material may include metals,plastics, composite materials, biodegradable materials, combinationsthereof, and/or the like. According to some of the various embodiments,such a filter may also be held in place by friction along the sidewalls824, the weight and/or volume of the substance 810, combinationsthereof, and/or the like.

The construction of the filter material may need to be selected so thatit is stiff enough, in combination with its placement in container 820,to support material 810. For example, the filter 840 may be made fromabout 100 g/m2 creped paper. The creping may allow the solution to flowthrough the filter 840. The raw materials (pulp) for the filter 840 mayinclude coarse long fibers. Filter 840 may be bleached and/orunbleached. Parameters that may be employed in selecting a filter 840may include strength, compatibility, efficiency and capacity.

Filter 840 may be made in different shapes and sizes to fit intodifferent holders. The filter 840 may be shaped as needed to adapt tothe container shape 820. For example, filter shapes may include, but arenot limited to, fluted shapes, conical shapes, and/or the like.Similarly, container 820 shape may be adapted as needed to adapt foremployment as a stand-alone cartridge and/or in use with a solutionmixing apparatus. For example, container 820 shapes may include, but arenot limited to, fluted shapes, conical shapes, and/or the like.

The container 820 and/or the lid 870 may comprise, at least in part, animpermeable material. For example, lid 870 may be composed of, at leastin part, a foil and polymer laminate material.

The filter interior space 846 may be configured to receive a liquidthrough the second machine piercing element 832. The liquid may be apressurized liquid. When this occurs, pressure may build in the solutionmixing cartridge 800. To relieve this pressure, according to some of thevarious embodiments, the lid may further comprises a second pierceablelid portion (not shown) configured to be pierced by a third machinepiercing element (not shown). The third machine piercing element mayalso be configured to introduce other liquids into cartridge 800. Thefirst machine piercing element 831 may be configured to accommodate anoutflow of solution from the cartridge 800.

A solution mixing device may be configured to accept and employcartridge 800. When cartridge 800 is placed in the solution mixingdevice, the pierceable lid portion may be pierced with a lower forcethan the pierceable bottom portion.

According to an example embodiment, cartridge 800 may be used, forexample, to make presweetened tea. A filter 840 may be placed in acontainer 820. The filter 840 may have a bottom portion 826 with aconcave portion 845 and a periphery portion 843. The filter 840 mayfastened inside container 820 to the container bottom 822 along at leastone location 891 of the filter periphery portion 843 such that theconcave portion 845 of the filter 840 is above a pierceable portion 823of the container bottom 822 and the filter opening 848 touches thecontainer sidewall 824. The filter 840 may be filled with atea/creamed-honey mixture 810 (described earlier). A lid 870 with a lidpierceable portion 873 may be fastened along the edge of containeropening 828. The cartridge 800 may be installed in a beverage machine. Afirst hollow pierceable element 831 may pierce the pieceable bottomportion 823 so that pierceable element 831 is inserted into container820 below the concave portion 845 of filter 840. A second hollowpierceable element 832 may pierce the pieceable lid portion 873 so thatpierceable element 832 is inserted into container 820 above (or near thetop of) the tea/creamed-honey mixture 810. Hot and/or pressurized watermay be injected into cartridge 800 through the second hollow pierceableelement 832. The hot and/or pressurized water may then seep through thetea/creamed-honey mixture 810 to create a honey sweetened tea solution.The honey sweetened tea solution may exit the filter 840 and becollected by the beverage machine through the first hollow pierceableelement 831.

The foregoing description provides illustration and description, but isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to theprecise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible inlight of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of theimplementations. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements areintended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be withinthe spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoingdescription and drawings are by way of example only. For example,embodiments are disclosed towards consumable beverages. However, oneskilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed embodiments couldbe employed to, for example, be used to mix glue or to dispensemedicine.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in theclaims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are notintended to limit the disclosure of the possible implementations. Infact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specificallyrecited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Althougheach dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one otherclaim, the disclosure of the possible implementations includes eachdependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

No element, act, or instruction used in the present application shouldbe constructed as critical or essential unless explicitly described assuch. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended toinclude one or more items.

It should be noted the terms “including” and “comprising” should beinterpreted as meaning “including, but not limited to”.

In this specification, “a” and “an” and similar phrases are to beinterpreted as “at least one” and “one or more.” References to “the,”“said,” and similar phrases should be interpreted as “the at least one”,“said at least one”, etc. References to “an” embodiment in thisdisclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment.

It is the applicant's intent that only claims that include the expresslanguage “means for” or “step for” be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112.Claims that do not expressly include the phrase “means for” or “stepfor” are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112.

The disclosure of this patent document incorporates material which issubject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection tothe facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Officepatent file or records, for the limited purposes required by law, butotherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

Further, the purpose of the Abstract of the Disclosure is to enable theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, andespecially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art whoare not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determinequickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of thetechnical disclosure of the application. The Abstract of the Disclosureis not intended to be limiting as to the scope in any way.

1. A cartridge, comprising: a container comprising a pierceable bottomportion structurally configured to be pierceable by a first machinepiercing element; a filter disposed inside the container, the filtercomprising: a pre-shaped concave center portion disposed above thepierceable bottom portion; and one or more attachment portions fastenedto the container bottom along a periphery of the pre-shaped concavecenter portion; and a lid attached to an opening of the container. 2.The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising a substance disposed in achamber bounded by the lid and the filter.
 3. The cartridge of claim 2,wherein at least part of the substance comprises at least one of: asweetner; a brewable medium; a beverage medium; coffee; tea; a liquidconcentrate; a powdered concentrate; a pharmaceutical; a nutraceutical;or a flavoring.
 4. The cartridge of claim 2, wherein at least part ofthe substance comprises at least one of: paint; glue; a cleaningsolution; or a solvent.
 5. The cartridge of claim 2, wherein thesubstance is configured to interact liquid to form a solution.
 6. Thecartridge of claim 2, wherein the substance is configured to interactliquid to form a beverage.
 7. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein anopening of the filter contacts a sidewall of the container.
 8. Thecartridge of claim 2, wherein the filter is configured to: hold back amajority of the substance; and pass a majority of a solution formed inresponse to the substance interacting with liquid in the chamber.
 9. Thecartridge of claim 2, wherein the cartridge is configured to pass anoutflow of a solution through the first machine piercing element. 10.The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the lid comprises a pierceable lidportion structurally configured to be pierceable by a second machinepiercing element.
 11. The cartridge of claim 10, wherein the containeris configured to receive a liquid through the second machine piercingelement.
 12. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein at least a part of thecontainer comprises an impermeable material.
 13. The cartridge of claim1, wherein the filter comprises multiple stages.
 14. The cartridge ofclaim 1, wherein a portion of the filter comprises an impermeablematerial.
 15. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein a portion of the filtercomprises a permeable material.
 16. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the one or more attachment portions are adhesively fastenedto the container bottom.
 17. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein at leastone of the one or more attachment portions are welded to the containerbottom.
 18. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one ormore attachment portions are mechanically bonded to the containerbottom.
 19. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one ormore attachment portions are chemically bonded to the container bottom.20. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the cartridge further comprises avalve.